The Improv Life: Process > Product

Having fun, That’s The Process

The Improv Life: Process > Product

Well we might have had the best Fernando Funes’ Long Form & Short Form Supreme on Thursday!

I’m not trying to exaggerate or anything. It’s just that the energy was electric that night. It’s as if we were all in synch with each other beforehand about just having fun on not putting pressure on anything.

I wrestle with the relationship between process and product. The more time you spend on the process, the better the product should be, right?

Not always true. When we put pressure on the process to achieve a very specific outcome we set ourselves up for disappointment because we might not always get the final product we envisioned in our head.

I used to see this a lot in narrative improv when one person wanted to go in one direction, someone else in another, and you ended up with competing paths instead of agreement in moving in one direction.

Don’t get me wrong. You fine tune the process in rehearsal, and then you trust the process during your show to deliver you a great final product.

I think when you just enjoy the process and see where it takes you (especially during shows) you’ll go to amazing places, and you’ll be surprised with the final product. The final product is a bonus. The more we lose ourselves in the joy of just playing, the less we’ll care about how it ends. When it ends, people will just be like that was amazing, and I can’t wait to do it again.

I say these things because it’s not always that way, so when it does happen – people having fun by agreeing, heightening, exploring, and supporting – it needs to be called out and celebrated so that it happens more and more. I think all the teams on Thursday demonstrated this, so I just wanted to give them a shout out.

Thanks to all the teams who made this past Thursday a magical night. Stay tuned for the next one.

#improv #theglendaleroom
#LAimprov #longform #shortformimprov

Show 39 of 2023

The Improv Life: Processing the Weird Feelings of the Journey

I get weird feelings all the time about the comedy journey.

I beat myself up too much for bad shows, failed concepts, ideas that looked good on paper not working out in real life, awkward interactions, friendships I neglected, and failed relationships.

I got a lot of regret, which causes awkward feelings: complex emotions that I’m not always the best at dealing with.

All the regrets revolve around people and how things could’ve gone better. Sometimes it’s my fault, sometimes it’s theirs, and sometimes it takes two to tango.

Some wounds are healed by time; others just hurt more with the passage of the years.

These memories don’t take away from the good times and experiences I’ve had – moments I will hold onto forever – but rather, they serve as a shadow to counter the light of my positive improv experiences.

Like my light, my shadow follows me wherever I go, and I will always be aware of it.

As I write this, I’m thinking of all the faces I’ve disappointed. I don’t know if they’ll forgive me. I hope. At the very least, I can forgive myself, and not let the weight of regret prevent me from moving on to the next thing. In the next thing is another part of my journey that will reveal unknown parts of myself to me.

#improv #journey #people #relationships #awkwardfeelings #emotions #light #shadow

Poem 241 For 2020

Poem 241

For any work
The process is the
Immediate gift
The gift of
How-to knowledge
The product
Is the gift on layaway
It will arrive delayed
In insight for
How to do it better next time
Until one day
Your process
Creates the product
You see in your mind
Maybe that’s called wisdom

241.20 #poem #product #process #artist #writer #howto #knowledge #insight #wisdom